Money Makes the World Go Round

I hate asking people for money.  It makes me uncomfortable.  I know I’m not alone.  Asking for money is hard.

But one thing I’ve learned in the last several years is this: The best way to get people to give you money is to tell them you want it.  Nobody has unlimited funds but everyone is prepared to pay something for a thing they feel strongly about.

The Dregs are able to get five dollars per requested song because we have set the price and people want to pay it.  We make it clear that there is a price for our services.

So what I’m asking for today is your money.  Fearless Comedy needs your support this weekend and there are a lot of ways you can help us out.  As I wrote yesterday, we have a lot of plans for the funds we are raising.

First, if you are thinking about donating at least $50, consider a matching grant.  Pick an hour during the event and match donations up to a certain amount.  This has a great impact because it means people are more likely to contribute because their donation is effectively doubled.  The donation you were going to make anyway is also doubled.

Your donation can be anonymous or we can put your name on it.

If you would like to set up a matching grant, e-mail tim@fearlesscomedyproductions.com and I will help you set it up.

If you can’t afford a big contribution, no problem.  There are times already set up when you can double your donation.

Right now, our board is sponsoring a $500 matching grant that expires at when the marathon starts at 7:00 PM on Friday.  If we reach that $500 target, they will throw in another $50.  That would mean we have over 10% of our goal raised before the marathon even starts.

CONvergence has generously donated $500 in matching grants, which we have split into two $250 grants. The first will be from Midnight – 1AM on Saturday the 7th during PowerPoint Karaoke.  The second will be from Midnight – 1AM on Sunday the 8th during the Epic Lip Sync Battle.

The first hour of the event (7 – 8PM on Friday the 6th) will be Fearless Lab and we have a $250 matching grant during that hour.

The final hour (9 – 10PM) on Sunday is Vilification Tennis and Vilification Tennis will be providing a $100 match.

And finally, I’m personally offering a $50 matching grant during the Fearless Story Hour from 5:00 – 6:00 AM on Saturday.

We also have a lot of challenges to choose from if you want your donations to count extra.  My co-hosts from Geeks Without God and I are trying to raise $1000.  If we can get that amount contributed to our challenge fund, we will all get audited at a Scientology Center.

During the Epic Lip Sync Battle, you can donate $20 to make a competitor lip sync a song they hate.

At any point during the weekend, you can donate $10 to have a vilifier write an insult about a person of your choosing.  You can also donate $10 to have a Fearless company member record a voice message on your phone.  If you want to wait until they are asleep, you can donate $30 to wake them up and have them record a voice message on your phone.

We have company members agreeing to have their legs waxed and do stand up comedy after being pepper sprayed.

Another way you can contribute is just by being there.  Recommended donation for entry is $20 but if you can’t afford $20, we will take $10.  Or $2. We’ll take whatever you can afford because having people there watching and laughing is important.

We have a donate button on our web site at dielaughingmarathon.com. Just up in the right hand corner there.  You can use Paypal to donate at any time.

If you don’t like Paypal, you can send an e-mail straight to me at tim@fearlesscomedyproductions.com and one of us can call you to run a card on our square account.  Or you can mail us a check.  Or you can give some cash to a friend who is going to the event.

And hey – if you can’t afford to support our company financially, your presence is still valuable to us.

Tell your friends you are going to our event.  Point them to our website so they can watch the stream.  Those actions don’t cost you anything.

We really do need your money.  But we also need you.  Contribute as much as you can if you can.  If all you can contribute is time or just a post on Facebook, thank you for that.